So my original Fancy box arrived and after last month’s rousing success I was hopeful. That was probably my first mistake because that guaranteed this month’s box would be full of whatfuckery and on that score Fancy didn’t disappoint.
Let’s get to the crap—, err, I mean box. (I apologize in advance for the cursing, you may want to turn the kiddies away from the screen).
Kinfolk: Issue Eleven (Fancy Retail: $18.00; Amazon Retail: $13.49)
Verdict: Miss
So where do I start. I could start with the fact that I’m probably not hipster enough to fully appreciate this magazine, but what I should point out is that I deselected “media” eons ago just to avoid getting these stupid overpriced magazines. This one honestly isn’t too bad as it seems to have some nice recipes, but I don’t have space in my apartment for books or magazines I don’t love or use all the time.
Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo Powder (Fancy Retail: $21.00)
Verdict: Miss
Oh Fancy here we go again, with all those interesting, fun quirky products that you can’t find anywhere else…oh wait, it’s dry shampoo. You know, the kind they include in every beauty box. And this brand is available everywhere including Sephora. Fancy boxes are supposed to be unique, fun, finds. HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO TELL YOU THIS FANCY!!!!! Okay, I’m calm now. Really. I am. If this had been included in my Jennifer Love Hewitt box or the Cocha Rocha or Kelly Rowland I would have understood. I expect to receive beauty products they enjoy, even if they are mainstream or a touch boring. But in a regular Fancy box, it’s just a stupid copout. I’ve used this dry shampoo before and it has a nice scent and is fairly effective but it is very noticeable on dark or even medium hair. I have red hair and it stands out quite a bit. If you want a dry shampoo in powder form the Lulu Organics brand is much better.
Tiny Gold Studs by Amano Trading (Fancy Retail: $22.00)
Verdict: Like
These are just little gold-plated lighting stud earrings. I think they’d actually be quite nice for someone’s second piercing. I don’t love them and they aren’t particularly compelling but I wear stud earrings frequently so I’m sure I’ll use them from time to time.
Chalkboard Decals by Wallies (Fancy Retail:$10.00)
Verdict: Like
I actually use chalkboard labels a lot and just picked up chalkboard paint to make some hanging tags. My only problem with this is that the decals seem to be designed for inset cabinets and mine are not that style and adding these to the outside would look super odd. I may just use them inside a cabinet or for some other crafting project. I wish Fancy would have included more versatile style decals, then I would have loved this.
Message in a Bottle USB Drive (Fancy Retail:$28.00; Amazon Retail: $11.95)
Verdict: Miss
Let me guess, you’re having a weird feeling of déjà vu. You’ve seen this before..read about it before…? That’s because I already received it in a Jennifer Love Hewitt box. It’s actually a fun little item, but hugely overpriced at Fancy. If this was brand new to this box I’d be happy with it. If you like it, pick it up on Amazon.
Now for the cherry on the crap sandwich that is my Fancy April Box:
This mysterious card was included.
Read it carefully…
Take your time…
I’ll wait…
Now, I’m not sure who is getting this box of “one-of-a-kind items with a rustic feel”, but I don’t’ think it was me. Well is dry shampoo one of a kind? I guess maybe it’s rustic not to wash your hair? We know that thumb drive isn’t one of a kind, but perhaps the cork stopper makes it rustic? I’d love to hear your guesses.
Overall:
Verdict: @*&U#$&#*)&$#* (Censored for the young and faint of heart)
So I got this box several weeks ago and my immediate action was to contact Fancy about the various issues. #1 The Duplicate item. #2 The Magazine that goes against my selections and #3 the mysterious card – because if the box described in that card exists, I want it. And if I was supposed to get it this month and got this pile of crap instead, someone’s got some s’plaining to do.
I sent three polite emails (I swear) through their customer service system spaced out over 3 weeks. No response despite the “24 hour response” claims. Attempted to talk with a customer service representative over their instant messaging. He couldn’t understand or help me with my issues and then proceeded to cut and paste instructions on how to set my Fancy preferences—which I know how to do quite well. Perhaps Fancy should just learn to read them? We got cut off and I did receive an email from the instant message person who proceeded to ignore the most important issue (duplicate item) and my question about the card and just suggested I return the magazine so they can exchange it for something else. I responded stating that he’d missed all the other issues. No response since then and that was a week ago.
Now Fancy has sent me some shit before and sometimes their customer service has been slow as hell, but eventually they come through with some kind of refund or response. This time I am angry, very angry. I understand sub box mistakes, but you don’t ignore your customers for weeks at a time and send incompetent customer service people who try to do the job, fail and then give up in the middle.
I will most likely be canceling this box (but for now am keeping the Jennifer Love Hewitt). If I hear back from customer service any time in the foreseeable future I’ll post an update with my next Fancy box review. I paid full price $46.95 and according to Fancy I got $99.00 worth of stuff. According to prices in the real world I actually received $78.44 in value, but one item is a duplicate and another is something I deselected from my profile. I don’t usually get quite so ranty in my posts, but I’ve reached my limit.
If you got an April Fancy box, I’d love to know the contents and if you got one of the mysterious “rustic” cards. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on what the “one of a kind items with a rustic feel” card actually means, (maybe I’m just not seeing the rusticness of USB drives and dry shampoo).
THE BACKSTORY
Fancy Box is a monthly subscription service that curates items that are popular on the Fancy website. There are a few different subscription options. They all cost $39 plus shipping (an additional $7.95).
#1 –Fancy box (Original)
This box features a collection of some of the most fancy’d items, curated by the fancy community. Each box includes $80.00+ of products in the categories of your choice.
The categories you can choose from include: Men’s, Women’s, Kid’s, Home, Gadgets & Media. It also lets you customize your Tshirt size and your cell phone type.
#2 Fancy Food Box
Each Fancy Food Box includes five or more food products – anything from cookies and chocolates to teas and sauces – along with a selection of tasty recipes and pairing suggestions.
#3 Celebrity Curated Fancy Box
There are five celebrity curated boxes to choose from. Each box includes $80.00+ of products. Most boxes are geared toward men or women though they do include unisex items.
They include:
- Verbal Fancy Box (This box is more geared towards Men)
- Cocha Rocha Fancy Box (This box is more geared towards Women)
- Tyler Florence Box (This box focuses on home, kitchen & cooking items)
- Jennifer Love Hewitt Box: (This box is more geared towards Women)
Kelly Rowland Fancy Box: Brand New! (This box is more geared towards Women)#4 New Mystery Boxes!
Select “Men” or “Women’s” and then choose your size:
Small: $10.00 plus shipping
Medium: $20.00 plus shipping
Large: $40.00 plus shipping
COUPON CODE: FOLLOWUP10 to Save 10%
Lisa Preziosi 
DARE you to take these items outside for more whimsical wtfery and tag Fancy! ‘This is me and my Oscar Blondi Dry Shampoo going for a bicycle ride through the country.’ ‘Oh look, my chalkboard message insert is trying to tell me something about this fishing pond.’
LOL!
If yo think that was crap, you should see the Mother’s Day boxes. I can only suppose they are cleaning out their warehouse.
I didn’t even know they had Mother’s Day boxes. I can’t even begin to imagine what they put in them. But last month they did such a good job, I though *maybe* they were past the warehouse cleaning that seemed to pervade the mystery boxes.
I got the same box for my first and last regular Fancy subscription. I finally received a replacement box of crap for my large men’s, of course the rant was taken down rather quickly from their site. I love the the Coco box and will keep it and the Tyler Florence box. I have already traded EVERYTHING from this box – even the book! So that’s the only plus!
That’s great. Their customer service is letting me return the thumb drive so I’m just waiting for a confirmation that I can mail it back in a small box/envelope instead of the giant fancy square box.
So, that’s a pass for me on this subscription! I ordered one from Quarterly. Coco’s. Not a single thing in that box had any value. I complained, they sent me another box of the EXACT SAME CRAP! But they did it fast! HA! And to be fair, they refunded my acct. Equally as fast! Gonna give Nina a try this time.
So happy I’m not the only one that hasn’t been shipped countless bottles, cans, shakers & sprays of dry shampoo! Isn’t the point for these companies to put their products in these boxes, hoping that you will love them so much you will purchase that product? I will never, ever need to buy dry shampoo! I also could do w out another inflatable fitness ball w a wk out DVD! I don’t even have a DVD player anymore!
O Kay! I think I got it all out….
Nina’s Quarterly subscription is my absolute favorite. There is so much value in it that even if you don’t like a few items you still end up coming out way ahead.
If you ever want to try Fancy, I’d definitely pick a celebrity box and avoid the regular one at this point. In the fashion/women’s category I think Cocha Rocha is the most consistent. The Jennifer Love Hewitt can be amazing or awful, so that one is a bigger gamble.
Fancy did confirm that this is the “rustic, one of a kind” box they spoke of. I’m still not seeing it.
LOL! Loved your review! I dipped my toe in Fancybox last month with a mystery box. The only mystery was how they actually sold the crap I got with a straight face. Never again! I could’ve saved the impact on the planet of shipping the thing by just burning $20 in the bathtub. Thank you, though, for such a funny and honest review – you got the crappy box they send to the peasants, not the free one full of the nice stuff some bloggers get (who never, ever find anything wrong, being that it’s not just any old free box the company sends them.)
What did you get in your mystery box…let me guess, a decal? Fancy is infuriating because they could be epic if they could just get their shit together.